Carpenter School's new HVAC system needs fixing

Lee V. Gaines, for the Chicago Tribune

Niles-Park Ridge District 64 Superintendent Laurie Heinz and District 64 Board of Education members Scott Zimmerman and Dathan Paterno listen to a summary of a report outlining critical issues with the heating and air conditioning system at Carpenter Elementary School in Park Ridge.

Niles-Park Ridge District 64 Superintendent Laurie Heinz and District 64 Board of Education members Scott Zimmerman and Dathan Paterno listen to a summary of a report outlining critical issues with the heating and air conditioning system at Carpenter Elementary School in Park Ridge. (Lee V. Gaines, for the Chicago Tribune)

Lee V. Gaines,Special to the Tribune

More than 200 flaws discovered in HVAC system installed last summer at Park Ridge elementary school

A report completed by an independent consultant has identified more than 200 problems -- 62 of them deemed critical -- within the one-year-old heating and air conditioning system at Carpenter Elementary School.

The Niles-Park Ridge District 64 school board agreed to pay roughly $65,000 to the Farnsworth Group, a full-service engineering and architecture firm, for the study earlier this summer. The HVAC system, which was installed last summer, is riddled with mechanical glitches, administrators say.

Fanning Howey, an engineering, architecture and design firm with a location in Park Ridge, and mechanical contractor F.E. Moran were hired by the district to design and install the system, which cost approximately $2.2 million.

The decision to commission the Farsnworth Group report came after Fanning Howey architects were unable to identify the root cause of the HVAC issues.

Farnsworth representative Chad Grindle summarized the most critical issues identified in the report at a recent school board meeting. He added that the other 156 lower priority issues outlined in the document should also be addressed by the district as they will ultimately impact the longterm functioning of the HVAC system.

The majority of the high-priority problems detailed by Grindle were related to extreme variations in room temperatures, undersized equipment and piping and other design and installation issues.

Board member John Heyde asked how these kinds of problems are usually caught during the installation and testing processes.

Grindle said, typically, a contractor or engineer are the two most likely individuals to identify flaws before the owner and occupants of a facility discover them.

Board President Anthony Borrelli wondered whether the Park Ridge elementary school was configured in a particularly complex design.

"It's more mid-range," Grindle said. "It's not simple, but also not the most complex."

To implement the recommendations listed in the Farnsworth report, Superintendent Laurie Heinz and Scott Mackall, the district's facility manager, highly recommended that the district hire a construction manager to oversee the repairs.

"The construction manager will be our representative to make sure everything is being done as it should be," Mackall said.

Mackall specifically recommended the district hire Nicholas and Associates Inc., a full-service contractor based in Mt. Prospect, as the construction manager for the job.

The district's business manager, Becky Allard, said the administration is not required to bid out the construction management work as long as the total bill comes in under $25,000.

Though work to remedy the HVAC issues already has begun and will continue through October, board members expressed frustration and wondered whom to blame for the current debacle.

Borelli asked whether the district would be able to recoup any of the extra costs, including the cost to hire the Farnsworth group and the expense of the construction management services.

Allard said she did not know the answer to that question, and Heyde added that the district's number-one priority should be to get all of the problems fixed.

Grindle advised the board and district officials to give both Fanning Howey and F.E. Moran an opportunity to rectify the problems in the system.

He said he is familiar with the firms and "firmly believes both will be enthusiastic to step up and take care of it."

Mackall echoed Grindle's sentiment.

"They've said all along that this will not hurt their reputation; that they will make it right for you," he said.

District officials said they would return to the board with an update on the repair work at a meeting scheduled for Sept. 22.